Rick's top 5 albums of 2003
1. Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
2. The Living End - Modern Artillery
3. Thrice - The Artist in the Ambulance
4. The White Stripes - Elephant
5. Andrew WK - The Wolf
If someone told me a year ago that this would be my top 5 list for 2003, I would've punched them in the face. 9 or 10 of my favorite bands were expected to release new albums in '03, and only 2 of those (Radiohead and Thrice) ended up in the top 5. It wasn't a bad year for music by any means, but there were definitely some disappointments. Hail to the Thief is fantastic, but even the number one pick isn't as good as I was hoping. I think it's mostly at the top because I saw Radiohead over the summer and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. A huge surprise is Modern Artillery by the Living End. Technically this will be a 2004 release in the states, but it was released in Australia in November and I ordered it online, so yeah. I don't think it's quite as good as "Roll On", but I've been listening to it for 2 months now and it's still going strong. Thrice's album wasn't a disappointment by any means - it falls at number three - but it just didn't quite live up to the hype I gave it. The White Stripes put out another fantastic, eclectic, rocking album. Seeing them in London with Rob and then again at the Aragon helped some, but I honestly don't know how much more they can do with a two piece band. I'll be surprised if they're able to release another album as good as Elephant. Yet another surprise is Andrew WK's "The Wolf". I think 99% of the population would call me an idiot for putting an AWK album in a top 5 list, but this guy just knows how to write music. True, there are no surprises and you get everything you're expecting and it's corny as hell, but that's the reason it's so good. Plus, the guy plays all of the instruments. There are also a couple honorable mentions. Alkaline Trio's "Good Mourning" was a solid album. It would've been on the top 5 for sure, if not for the fact that I know the Trio can rock harder. I suppose that's not fair, but it's my list so I can do what I want. Lagwagon's "Blaze" would probably be number one for the first 7 or 8 tracks. Unfortunately it kind of tapers off and goes from almost perfect to mediocre within 2 or 3 songs. NOFX's "War on Errorism" is another solid album, but again I was expecting so much more out of NOFX. Some total disappointments are MxPx's "Before Everything and After", which was decent, but nothing close to what I expected out of my favorite band. Another was Five Iron Frenzy's "The End is Near". I think I listened to the album a handful of times, and there were only a couple songs that I wanted to hear again.
So that's about it. In another month or two this list will probably look a little different since there are a few albums I've yet to really listen to (Story of the Year's "Page Avenue" and Blink 182's self-titled), but that's about it for now. I apologize for the lack of detail, but I suck at explaining why I like things. I just do, ok?!
By the way, Bill came in on Tuesday. He's doing well. He'll be in Arizona for another month or two, and then he'll be in Georgia for a few weeks for jump school. Then he'll be stationed in South Carolina at Fort Bragg or something. I'm glad he and Chris are doing well.
The Violent Femmes show on New Years Eve was fantastic. Kate and Bill and Sara and I had a good time and drank some good stuff (they had Guinness!) and watched some good bands and got home safely. I hope everyone else enjoyed themselves.
I'm at work right now. This day is so slow. I think we're the only ones who have to work today.
I can't wait to sleep tonight. I'm tired.
Paul and Laura get home this weekend.
Bill's parents are going to China for a month in May!!! I bet they'll need a group of people to take care of Sally for a week. Right? Yes indeed.
I'm insane. Have a good day!
Love,
Rick
1. Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
2. The Living End - Modern Artillery
3. Thrice - The Artist in the Ambulance
4. The White Stripes - Elephant
5. Andrew WK - The Wolf
If someone told me a year ago that this would be my top 5 list for 2003, I would've punched them in the face. 9 or 10 of my favorite bands were expected to release new albums in '03, and only 2 of those (Radiohead and Thrice) ended up in the top 5. It wasn't a bad year for music by any means, but there were definitely some disappointments. Hail to the Thief is fantastic, but even the number one pick isn't as good as I was hoping. I think it's mostly at the top because I saw Radiohead over the summer and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. A huge surprise is Modern Artillery by the Living End. Technically this will be a 2004 release in the states, but it was released in Australia in November and I ordered it online, so yeah. I don't think it's quite as good as "Roll On", but I've been listening to it for 2 months now and it's still going strong. Thrice's album wasn't a disappointment by any means - it falls at number three - but it just didn't quite live up to the hype I gave it. The White Stripes put out another fantastic, eclectic, rocking album. Seeing them in London with Rob and then again at the Aragon helped some, but I honestly don't know how much more they can do with a two piece band. I'll be surprised if they're able to release another album as good as Elephant. Yet another surprise is Andrew WK's "The Wolf". I think 99% of the population would call me an idiot for putting an AWK album in a top 5 list, but this guy just knows how to write music. True, there are no surprises and you get everything you're expecting and it's corny as hell, but that's the reason it's so good. Plus, the guy plays all of the instruments. There are also a couple honorable mentions. Alkaline Trio's "Good Mourning" was a solid album. It would've been on the top 5 for sure, if not for the fact that I know the Trio can rock harder. I suppose that's not fair, but it's my list so I can do what I want. Lagwagon's "Blaze" would probably be number one for the first 7 or 8 tracks. Unfortunately it kind of tapers off and goes from almost perfect to mediocre within 2 or 3 songs. NOFX's "War on Errorism" is another solid album, but again I was expecting so much more out of NOFX. Some total disappointments are MxPx's "Before Everything and After", which was decent, but nothing close to what I expected out of my favorite band. Another was Five Iron Frenzy's "The End is Near". I think I listened to the album a handful of times, and there were only a couple songs that I wanted to hear again.
So that's about it. In another month or two this list will probably look a little different since there are a few albums I've yet to really listen to (Story of the Year's "Page Avenue" and Blink 182's self-titled), but that's about it for now. I apologize for the lack of detail, but I suck at explaining why I like things. I just do, ok?!
By the way, Bill came in on Tuesday. He's doing well. He'll be in Arizona for another month or two, and then he'll be in Georgia for a few weeks for jump school. Then he'll be stationed in South Carolina at Fort Bragg or something. I'm glad he and Chris are doing well.
The Violent Femmes show on New Years Eve was fantastic. Kate and Bill and Sara and I had a good time and drank some good stuff (they had Guinness!) and watched some good bands and got home safely. I hope everyone else enjoyed themselves.
I'm at work right now. This day is so slow. I think we're the only ones who have to work today.
I can't wait to sleep tonight. I'm tired.
Paul and Laura get home this weekend.
Bill's parents are going to China for a month in May!!! I bet they'll need a group of people to take care of Sally for a week. Right? Yes indeed.
I'm insane. Have a good day!
Love,
Rick
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